The 2 winners of Raising a Young Modern-Day Princess are:

Drum Roll….Kathleen Ruckman and Michele Mobley!

Congratulations ! Please email me your mailing address to KathyCollardMiller AT gmail DOT com. I’m so happy for you both. You will receive one copy of the book from one of the authors.

Thank you to everyone who entered the drawing. I appreciate it and so do Doreen Hanna and Karen Whiting.

And now here’s another treat. I’d like to share the wise thoughts of a wonderful friend of mine on “Making It Through the Winter Seasons of Life.” I met Mikaela Vincent by traveling to a country where it would be dangerous for her if I said where she lives and ministers. But she has a powerful ministry and also is a writer and speaker. I hope you enjoy her thoughts and be sure to check out her website http://www.MoreThanAConquerorBooks.com and her books that are mentioned at the end of the post. There, she is offering a free “Guide to Knowing God’s Voice.”

Making It Through the Winter Seasons of Life 
by Mikaela Vincent



“He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him.”  Deuteronomy 32:10-39 (NKJV)
Not long ago, I walked through what I call a long “winter” season. For six years straight, family members and others we loved died from cancer, suicide and other tragedies. But we were not alone in our loss, for several close friends also lost loved ones and came to our home one by one to cry. Meanwhile, my best friends who had encouraged me and ministered together with me for many years moved away and changed. Some broke promises and fell into lies and attacks. Others fell to mental illness, sin, divorce. Some even left the faith.
I could share with you the other tragedies that occurred during those years, but I think you get the point. “Harsh” doesn’t even begin to describe that long winter.
Stripped bare of so many people close to me who I had leaned on and loved for so many years, I found myself in a lonely place a bit like a cold wasteland. But the Lord reminded me that He too was betrayed, He too lost those closest to Him, and He too knows what it’s like to suffer alone.
And yet, I wasn’t alone. For He was with me. He hand-fed me from His Word, and His voice and His touch warmed me to the core. He spoke truth into my pain and set me free from things I didn’t know I was captive to–without a barren wilderness to bring them out into the open.
I wouldn’t wish what we went through on anyone, but I can tell you without a doubt that the eternal rewards of drawing nearer to Christ and becoming one with Him have far outweighed the trials (2 Corinthians 4:7-18).
If you’re going through a hard time now, know that you’re not alone. Not only are others around you also going through hard times, but the One Who carries you is with you
Don’t waste this trial. If you rely on your own strength to make it through, the difficulties may indeed change you, but not for the good. Let the One who will never leave you or forsake you transform the hard things (including your heart) into beautiful things. 
Then your winter will pass, and “spring” will surely come. Song of Songs 2:10-14.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. … Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:7,  6-17
Thank you, Mikaela, for sharing with us. I know personally of your victorious life in spite of many challenges and I trust your words have encouraged the hearts of my readers.

Mikaela has graciously offered you a Free “Guide to Knowing God’s Voice,” which is on the home page of her website, www.MoreThanAConquerorBooks.com. Or you can write her directly for it at [email protected].

And please also check out Mikaela’s website to read about her books, which are for both adults and teenagers:



Any proceeds from her books go toward carrying the Light into dark corners of the world where few have heard of Christ and Christians are persecuted.  


Here is more about her:
Mikaela Vincent is the author of “Delight to Be a Woman of God” (https://www.createspace.com/6673859) and other inspirational novels, Bible studies, devotionals and children’s books available at www.MoreThanAConquerorBooks.com and Amazon. She and her husband live and work in a dark area of the world where few have heard the name of God, much less Jesus. As a wife and mother who has raised her children under difficult circumstances, Mikaela knows the reality of spiritual warfare and the battles God’s people face today. She has a heart for mentoring teens and adults to learn to hear God’s voice, follow His lead, and break free from sin habits, lies and strongholds that control our reactions rather than the Holy Spirit. A writer and conference speaker, Vincent also leads personal spiritual retreats for individuals, couples, teams and others who want to walk as one with Christ and His body. Her Bible studies and novels for teenagers, leaders, singles, men, women and children offer deep truths that not only inspire, but transform.